Reversed Roles: Bowser's Quest
by C War
Summary: What if we were wrong about the events in these other worlds? This story features Bowser as the hero, instead of the villain.
1. Prologue

"Mariooooo!" Bowser howled, though he knew that the 'plumber' likely couldn't hear him now. "Grah! Let them goooo!" he spewed in fiery breath. Any father in his situation would likely do the same, though. For the source of Bowser's anger was clear to anyone who inspected the castle closely enough: the Koopalings were missing! "Pesky humans!" Bowser fumed. "It's bad enough that you stomp my minions at every turn, but now? WHY?!?"

It wasn't just Mario that was responsible, of course. This kind of operation could only be done with help, and Mario had plenty of 'friends' to help him pull a job like this, chief among them his brother, Luigi. He was likely the mastermind of this plan, Bowser realized. (It was much easier to think with a cool head once he'd spewed a few flames.) The string bean had always been the smarter of the two, but he preferred working in the background, letting Mario take the credit. Mario had the muscle and the charisma to pull off the plans that Luigi came up with, (though Luigi, interestingly, could jump higher. Must be his lighter weight, Bowser mused) and the ambition to be the leading man.

Then there were the princesses, the Mario Bros. girlfriends. Peach Toadstool, ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario's lover, had the Toads well under her thumb, and was gifted with potent magical powers that nearly rivaled her good looks. Luigi's gal, Daisy, was very much the opposite. Ruler of the desert kingdom of Sarasaland, she was very much a tomboy, and an avid athlete. While she possessed no magic, to speak of, she had the strength and skill to more than make up for it.

And that said nothing of Mario's animal allies. Chief among them was the Yoshi's, gluttonous reptiles who primarily lived on their own island, though one green one who was especially close with Mario sometimes served as his mount on the mainland. There were also the Kongs, though Donkey and Mario could hardly be called friends after that business with Pauline. She, of course, wouldn't talk to either of them anymore. He'd leave both groups alone, if he could—the ape could pack near as strong a punch as he could, and Yoshis seemed to be made of rubber!

Then there were Mario's cousins, Wario and Waluigi. Thinking about them made Bowser pause. They weren't exactly close to the Mario brothers, not that they were buddies with him, either. But if they were in on Mario's plan…they might be able to be persuaded to help him out, with information if nothing else.

That thought made up Bowser's mind as to where to go first. Waluigi lived on an island populated by Piranha Plants and a few other nasty, if neutral, creatures. And Piranha plants didn't take to well to fire, even though they liked to throw it, too. Waluigi would also likely know the security codes for Wario's factory, though whether the prankster would give them to him was another story.

Yes, the stickman would be his first objective. Bowser smiled as he left his fortress in Dark Land and began his quest…


	2. World 1: Waluigi's Island

**World 1: Waluigi's Island**

Bowser looked around as he arrived on Waluigi's Island. It was really a chain of islands, though perhaps they were one island at low tide. Nevertheless, there were bridges across the gaps between the islands, enabling travel between them even when the water was high.

"Graah, now where is that string bean?" Bowser asked the air. At least, he thought no one was around.

"Hey, wake up! The Koopa King is here!"

"Wha? Aah! Pass the word along! We need to be ready!"

"Why did we even end up involved in this? Mario and Waluigi never used to get along!"

"Because Mario bribed Master Waluigi, that's why."

Bowser listened to the Piranha Plants whispering to each other for a moment, until his patience ran out. "Enough! Are you going to tell me where your 'master' is, or do I need to burn it out of you?"

"Wah!" they shouted, disappearing back down the warp pipes.

"Eeeh? What kind of sentries are you?!? Get out there and stop him!" Bowser heard Waluigi's voice echo from loudspeakers, shouting at the Piranha Plants. Reluctantly they began sticking their heads back out of the pipes, firing off fireballs before disappearing again.

"Looks like we do this the hard way," Boswer mused as he began trekking across the island. The Piranhas weren't that hard to scare into submission, either, as he just needed to breathe fire in their direction to get them hiding again. Or a swing of his claws if he was close enough. Some of them were a touch more brave, which left them either nursing gashes from his claws, or diving away burning.

"Waaahaha! Stomp around all you want, Bowser, you won't find me!" Waluigi taunted over the loudspeaker. Bowser looked around and realized that he'd covered most of the surface of the island.

"Hra, there's not a building to be seen on this island…wait a minute….OF COURSE!" Bowser realized that he'd been just stomping past dozens of warp pipes in the past hour. "Now, to find the right one…" He remembered one area where the Piranha plants had been more tenacious than normal. "Yeah, I'll check there first."

None of the Piranha plants rose to challenge him this time, until he got back to the suspicious clearing. "All right, outta the way!" Bowser roared, breathing flames into the air. One of the Piranha plants got bold and fired a fireball at him in response. It hit him squarely, but Bowser just brushed it off. With another step forward, the Piranhas all ducked back into their pipes. "Now, which one is it…" he looked around at the pipes. At first, his eyes were drawn to a pipe that looked much like Waluigi himself, tall and skinny. But as he approached it, he noticed a broad, short pipe near it. "Wario'd have as hard a time squeezing into the small pipe as I was, and if the two of them are as close as they seem…" Nodding, Bowser jumped onto the short, fat pipe, and squeezed his way into it.

He emerged in an underground cave, with what looked to be a furnished cavern ahead of him. "Nooooo!" Waluigi yelled as he ran out of his 'home'. "You were supposed to use the other one! They stretch to let you in, after all…"

"It was too obvious," Bowser replied snidely. "Now, I could care less about any of this. I just want my kids back."

Waluigi laughed. "And what makes you think I know anything about that?"

Bowser roared, silencing Waluigi's laughter. "First, you're friendly with Wario and related to Mario and Luigi, who are the most likely culprits. And second, if you weren't up to something, you wouldn't have defended so much."

"Dad? Is that you?"

Bowser heard a faint call from the cave behind Waluigi. "And then there's that," Bowser said, growling.

"Waaaah!?! How'd that kid get the gag off?" Waluigi shouted, getting into a defensive crouch.

"Uh, hello, they _are_ my kids. They can breathe fire, too," Bowser retorted.

Waluigi was trembling. "B-but, he shouldn't be able to yet! That ice flower we shoved down his throat was supposed to keep his flames off!" Waluigi thought for a moment. "Oh, crud! I didn't remember to give him another one! I was too worried about you!"

"As you should be," Bowser roared, swiping at Waluigi. He jumped, however, easily avoiding Bowser's claws. But he landed right on a blast of flames, lighting his pants on fire. He dropped to the ground and rolled to put the fire out, but by the time he had extinguished the flames, Bowser was standing directly over him, and put his foot on Waluigi's stomach, preventing him from moving. "Now, seeing as you're involved, that means Wario is too. And you, my slim friend, are going to get me into his factory." Waluigi nodded eagerly, not wanting to make the big lizard standing on him mad. "Larry! Are you alright?" Bowser called.

"Yeah, I'm okay, dad," came the reply as Larry stumbled through the doorway, burnt ropes in his hand. "Still a little cold from those ice flowers, though."

"Then let's get back to the ship and get you warmed up. Hand me one of those ropes." Larry gave his dad the biggest piece that he had, which he used to bind Waluigi's arms behind his back, with a leash to keep hold of him. The three of them then proceeded back across the island to the ship, and Bowser set sail for Wario's Factory.


	3. World 2: Wario's Factory

**World 2: Wario's Factory**

The ship groaned as Bowser landed it on the beach. "You keep an eye on those monitors, and stay in here!" Bowser growled at Larry as he left the control room with Waluigi in tow. "Watch your back, ok?"

"Got it, king dad!" the koopa boy replied.

"What makes you think I'll help you get inside?" Waluigi spat at Bowser. "I may not agree with Mario and Luigi, but I'm not betraying Wario."

"Unfortunately for both of you," Bowser growled as he trudged down the ramp from his ship, "I know how you get into this here factory of his." Bowser stopped, and took Waluigi from his shoulder, turning him around to stand facing the factory. They were standing in front of what looked like a blank wall.

"WAAAAhahaha!" Waluigi started laughing. "You stupid koopa, there isn't a door there! WAAAAhahaha!" Bowser just ignored him, and began probing the wall. After a moment, he found the hidden switch, and suddenly a panel appeared in the middle of the wall.

Bowser turned back to Waluigi. "Your turn." Before the skinny man could do more than yell, Bowser grabbed him and planted his hand firmly on the panel. Unnoticed by Bowser, Waluigi also slid one finger around to hit a small button as Bowser released his hand and dropped him back on the ground.

"Waluigi! Come on in!" echoed Wario's voice from the hidden speakers. The sound quality made it clear that it was just a recording, though. A door in the wall slid open, providing access into the factory. The metal grated under his feet and tail as he walked in.

Once he was clear of the door, it slammed closed behind him, leaving Waluigi tied up outside. Bowser figured that one of Wario's minions would untie him, once they found him. He went in further, emerging into a large room.

There was black everywhere! Several squadrons of Bob-Ombs could be seen around the immense space, as well as several Bullet Bill cannons, with Bullet Bills sliding around on conveyor belts to be loaded into the cannons, with others flying around the room. There were even a couple of Banzai Bills and their cannons visible, and a large water tank with a Torpedo Ted launcher. A few Torpedo Teds were swimming around, along with a few Mecha-Cheep-Cheeps.

A loud clang to his right caused Bowser to turn, and he didn't like what he saw. Several Shy Guys emerged from the door that was the source of the sound, and a squadron of Snifits was clambering out onto catwalks above, all responding to the silent alarm that Waluigi had tripped. "Freeze, koopa!" one of the Shy Guys shouted.

Bowser did, largely because they were not the only threat in the room. All of the explosive and ballistic foes in the room were also now focused on him. He looked around the room for a moment, and then laughed loudly. "Grahahaha! Come and get it!" he shouted as he fired a stream of flames at one of the groups of Bob-Ombs. Predictably, they detonated, setting off a chain reaction that drew a great deal of attention, either towards it or away. Only the occupants of the pool seemed unperturbed.

Bowser took advantage of the distraction, and charged forwards, plowing through the Shy Guys while spinning in his shell. A few of the Snifits were paying attention and shot at him, but those bullets that hit just bounced off of his spikes. Bowser spun out of the room easily, leaving behind an increasing number of explosions as panicked Bullet Bills and Bob-Ombs crashed into machinery and each other.

In the hallway, Bowser stood back up, and began looking for a way to get to Wario. He had to deal with various traps that Wario had designed along the way, but most of them were too weak to really bother him, and he dodged any that were a bit more dangerous, like pitfall traps.

It didn't take him long to find a map, even with having to fend off a few more of Wario's minions and inventions. Nothing was labeled in such a way that screamed 'control room' or anything like that, so he went to the named room that seemed most likely to bear fruit, the Research Lab.

Posted outside of the lab, Bowser encountered an actual challenge. A group of Laser Snifits were guarding the doors, and their repeated laser blasts made it hard for Bowser to get close. They were strong enough beams that it was painful for him to get hurt, which was a welcome surprise. "Alright, c'mon!" he roared as he jumped from behind cover. He then charged forward and began spinning in his shell before the first beam hit, sliding under it. He spun forward, dodging as many blasts as he could until he finally rammed into the group, bowling them over. A few remained standing after that, but didn't last long against his claws. "Guards this strong means there's something good in here," Bowser mused as he broke the locked door down.

"Whaaaa?" Wario shouted in dismay. He was standing at a workbench in the middle of the room, tinkering with something. Morton Koopa was tied and sedated in a cage nearby. "Grrrrr, I knew this would happen. I wish my stupid cousin had never gotten me into this mess."

"If you don't want to fight, then let go of Morton," Bowser growled.

"Oh, I'll fight you," Wario replied, picking up whatever it was he'd been tinkering with. "I've just put the finishing touches on my new weapon system, and could use a good test subject." He then grabbed the straps and swung the device onto his back. Grabbing the control sticks that now ran under his arms, he jumped into the air, and stayed there, his jetpack holding him there. Bowser charged forward, slashing at him but getting only air as he hovered higher. Paying too much attention to his foe, Bowser ran straight into the wall.

Wario chuckled as Bowser peeled himself off of the wall. "And this isn't all it can do. Bombs away!" Thrusting forward, Wario ejected a Bob-omb from the pack. It hit the dazed reptile squarely, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Just try that again!" Bowser howled, spewing flames in the process.

Wario laughed again. "Maybe later, but first let's test this button!" A different cannon popped out of the pack, launching a Bullet Bill towards Bowser. Bowser grabbed the missile out of midair, and threw it back at Wario. It was bathed in the exhaust from the jetpack as Wario just barely got high enough to avoid it. "OOOOOH, why you-!" Wario growled as he dove at Bowser. "Eat this!" Just before colliding, Wario pulled up and away. Leaving a very unpleasant gift behind.

"Uaaah hah," Bowser coughed, eyes burning, as he tried to get clear of the gas. "Frraaa!" Flames erupted from his mouth, igniting the gas around him, causing it to flare quickly, clearing the air. "You'll pay for that, filthy human!"

"Try me!" Wario taunted, making rude gestures as he hovered just out of reach. He pulled out a key, presumably for Morton's cage, and started waving it around. Bowser searched around for something to use to clip the fat inventor's wings, seeing if any of the scrap in the lab could be useful. He had one plan, but it relied on Wario giving him ammunition, since he didn't see any lying around.

"Get down here and fight!" he howled in frustration.

"Make me! Bombs away!" Wario shouted, dropping another Bob-omb. Just what Bowser had been waiting for. He fired a small, fast fireball that struck dead center on the walking explosive. Unstable like all of its kind, the Bob-omb detonated on contact with the flame, setting off a chain reaction within the jetpack. Seconds later, Wario was flung to the ground in flames as the jetpack scattered around the room. The key bounced across the floor, landing right near the cage. Bowser lumbered over, picked it up, and undid the lock, which he noted was strong enough that he would've had a hard time breaking it.

"Time to wake up, Morton," Bowser called as he untied the young koopa. After a moment, he opened his eyes, blinking at his father.

"Dad? What's *yawn* going on? Where are we? *yawn* Why am I so tired?" Morton's questions continued as he tried to shake off the sedation.

"C'mon, I'll tell you later, when we're in a safer place." Bowser picked up the boy and set him on his shoulders. He started for the door, but paused when he heard Wario groan from across the room.

"Oooooh, Mario's not gonna like this," he groaned. Bowser just shook his head.

"Just be glad you're alive, after that," Bowser replied, turning again and leaving the room. Taking advantage of a new exit that the explosions had made in the wall of the building, he made his way to his ship. He noticed that Waluigi was still where he'd left him. He appeared to be making progress undoing the knots, but the Koopas would be long gone before he was able to give chase. He laughed as he boarded the ship, and plotted a course towards Yoshi Island.


End file.
